Gaining By Giving (2)

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Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia,

no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but you only.

For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again unto my necessity.

Not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.

But I have all and abound.

I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you,

an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus.

Now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

What a great, great way to end such a profitable and joyful letter with such doxology at the end of that.

As Paul says, now glory be to God forever and ever.

And what is it that leads him into this great doxology?

It is a discussion about what the Philippians had done for him.

It was the joy that he had experienced in their partnership.

And it was the excitement that he sensed as he saw Epaphroditus come through that small, tiny prison apartment in Rome

bearing a gift from his loved ones in Philippi.

Last week we began the study in these verses and we only made it through really the first section of it.

And today we're going to finish in verses 18 and 19.

To help my study and maybe even perhaps to help your study of this particular passage,

I've really just had three headings, each just a single word.

We got to the first word last week which was share.

And we see that in verse number 15 as Paul once again uses this word group in the Greek, the koinon word group or koinonia.

As he says that no one communicated is the word that he uses here that is translated here for us.

No one communicated in giving and receiving except you only at a particular partner's ministry.

The word there is fellowship, partnership in, sharing in.

And as we begin to understand the context of chapter 4, this part of chapter 4,

we see that what Paul is referring to is the sharing in material resources that the Philippians had shared with the gospel ministry of Paul.

But then what they had also had a share in, in the benefits and the fruitfulness of the gospel.

And so we see in these headings, the first one is share.

And then we get to this second heading in our study today which comes to us from verse 18.

And here's the word that we find, sacrifice, sacrifice.

Look with me at verse 18 again.

Paul says,

As Paul continues writing out his thank you note to the church here,

We can sense again the joy and the excitement that he would have experienced having received this gift.

Knowing that without the gift that was coming from other laborers in the ministry,

without the gifts that were coming from Philippi and perhaps other churches as well during this imprisonment,

he wouldn't even be able to have the basic needs of life,

the basic needs of nourishment and food and warmth and closing.

All of that came by way of the giving of others.

And he writes in this encouragement thank you note and he says,

I want you to know, Philippi, that I'm full.

I have everything that I need.

Because of you, I have been fully supplied as Epaphroditus has brought this gift on your behalf.

But again, it wasn't the material gain and the gift that he joined in the most.

It was what the gift represented,

which was the faithful worship of the Philippian church.

Which is why in the second half of this verse,

he says,

I am full, I'm excited, I am joyful having received this gift from you

because this gift is an odor of a sweet smell

that is acceptable and it is pleasing to the Lord.

Paul compared the giving of the Philippian church here to the sacrificial system of the Old Testament.

And doing this, he tied their generosity directly to worship of God.

In fact, the Old Testament routinely uses this analogy,

the aroma of the burnt offering as an analogy to God being satisfied

satisfied and pleased by the worship of those who genuinely love and obey him.

And it's not the first time that he's done this in the letter.

In fact, flip back just a page over to chapter 2 and look with me at verse 17.

Paul's done this once before.

He says,

There he's making a reference to the drink offering that would have been poured out.

And he was essentially saying,

if my suffering, if my work,

if the issues that I'm facing is used faithfully by God as a drink offering

that is pleasing to him,

that uplifts an aroma to the Lord that pleases him and is acceptable to him,

that I am willing to face whatever I need to face.

And here again, he ties it back into their giving.

And he says,

I'm so thankful and I joy in what you have done

because what you have done in this gift

shows that you are committed to the worship of your heavenly Father

because your gift has arisen to him

in the way that the Old Testament burnt offering

would have had an aroma that arose

and was well-pleasing and acceptable to the Lord.

Paul was saying that their gift was an act of worship.

And truly, giving is foremost a matter of Christian worship.

And worship is by nature sacrificial.

Giving is foremost a matter of Christian worship.

And worship is by nature sacrificial.

To truly worship is to offer something to God

that reflects his worth.

The word literally comes from an old English word,

worth or worth-ship.

In other words, the worship is the offering up

of what we feel God is worthy of receiving from us.

It is to ascribe a value to the thing

that we are worshiping in that moment.

How is it that you ascribe value

to your heavenly Father,

to your Savior, Jesus Christ,

and to the Holy Spirit and his work in your life?

That's what our worship is.

This term has been misused

in modern Christianity.

People try to box it up.

They would describe worship

as just a portion of a service

when we would sing.

And singing is just that.

It's just singing.

It's a part of worship.

It's not the totality of worship.

Neither is a worship service

the totality of worship.

Worship is a response

to how you view God.

And it's not only a response

that is done for an hour and a half

on a Sunday morning.

It is a response that is demonstrated

in your life 24 hours a day,

seven days a week.

What kind of value

do you hold God with in your life?

Paul ties this worship directly

to the giving of the Philippian church.

And this is really where we see

in other passages in the New Testament

that our eyes are opened

to the spirit of the Philippians.

Listen to this passage

from 2 Corinthians chapter eight.

Paul was encouraging the Corinthian church

in their giving

and he uses the Philippians as his example.

Here's what he says.

Moreover, brethren,

we want you to know

of the grace of God

bestowed on the churches of Macedonia,

how then a great trial of affliction,

the abundance of their joy

and their deep poverty

abounded unto the riches

of their generosity.

In other words,

they had nothing,

but they gave what they have.

They were generous to give

even in the midst of poverty.

For to their power,

I bear record, Paul writes.

Yea, and beyond their power,

they were willing of themselves,

begging us earnestly

that we would receive the gift

and take upon us,

here's that koinan word again,

take upon us the fellowship,

the sharing of,

the partnership

of the ministering to the saints.

And then listen to how he closes it

in verse five.

And this they did,

not as we expected,

but they first gave

of their own selves

to the Lord

and unto us

by the will of God.

This first giving of their selves

is not a reference

to first in time,

but first in priority.

That the giving materially

of the Philippian church

to these other churches

that were in need

wasn't just a form of obligation

or form of tradition.

It was the overflow

of how they had first in priority

given everything of themselves

to the Lord.

They had first offered themselves

to him.

And as they had offered themselves

and their whole being

and their whole life,

it didn't matter to them

that they were in poverty.

They were willing to give

whatever they had

in order to show their worship

to the Lord,

to ascribe this value

to their creator.

They had taken what Paul

had written to the Roman church

in chapter 12 to heart.

I beseech you therefore,

brethren, Paul wrote,

by the mercies of God

that you present your bodies

a living sacrifice,

holy, acceptable unto God,

which is your spiritual worship,

he says.

What is God worthy

of receiving from you today?

The simple answer to that

is everything.

Everything.

God is not interested

in your money.

He's interested in you.

He doesn't need your money,

but he wants you.

And as we offer ourselves,

our whole being,

our spirit,

our worship to him,

the natural overflow of that

is we will give

whatever is necessary

for us to give,

however it is that the Lord

leads us to give,

in order that we can

demonstrate our worship

to him.

we can't look at this passage

and consider it

without seeing first

the implication of sacrifice

as the Bible teaches

about our spirit of giving.

For many of us,

really,

giving isn't much of a sacrifice.

We have been so tremendously blessed

that we are capable

of really regularly giving,

many of us,

without it having too much

of an effect on our lives.

It doesn't really drastically

affect the way that we live.

But the Bible teaches

that we are to be ready

to give

even when it's inconvenient

and a great sacrifice

to do so.

In fact,

many of us,

even to my own shame,

I make this statement,

would do well

to structure our budgets

around our giving

rather than around

our wants

and give whatever's left over.

I wonder how many of us

have ever actually

structured a budget that way.

Julie and I prayed

about this this week

and really in a response

to our study last week

and talking about

how few times

we've viewed our giving

as anything

but just another

kind of category

on the budget list

every week

or every month.

But how many times

have we sat down

and thought,

how much

can I actually

live on

to have my needs met

so that I can give

as much as I can

to the Lord,

to His work?

Very few of us do that.

Really,

sacrifice is a huge part

of giving.

It's a huge part

of the spirit

of our giving.

The Philippian church,

as we've already seen,

gave out of their poverty

at times.

And rather than use that

as an excuse,

they willingly sacrificed

for the pleasure

and the glory of God.

Jesus taught this lesson

to His disciples

in Mark chapter 12

Mark 12 · chapter mention

in a story that I'm sure

you're familiar with.

Here's what it says,

and He sat down

opposite of the treasury

and watched the people

putting money

into the offering box.

Can you imagine that?

That would be such

a poor thing to do

in Christian churches today,

wouldn't it?

We would hate for Jesus

to do that to us.

As we take up the offering

in the service,

what if I just kind of

sat down and just watched

every offering?

Okay, make sure.

How much did you give

and how much did you give?

Jesus is setting our cross

from the offering box.

It was a box

that many churches

actually use today

where they would,

instead of passing a plate,

they would drop their money

in a box

and they would have

a moment of worship

and prayer there

as they gave to the Lord.

And that's exactly

what Jesus is doing

in Mark chapter 12.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

He's sitting

and He's just watching

people give.

And it says,

many rich people

put in large sums,

great amounts of money.

But a poor widow came

and put in two small

copper coins

which make a penny.

This penny

wasn't even a day's wage.

It was even just

a portion of a day's wage.

And He called His disciples

to Him and said to them,

truly I say to you,

this poor widow

has put in more

than all those

who are contributing

to the offering box.

For they all contributed

out of their abundance.

But she out of her poverty

has put in everything

that she had.

All she had to live on.

Jesus isn't instructing

that when you come

to church on Sunday

you're to give

every penny

in your bank account.

That's not what

He's instructing there.

Please don't mistake

what I'm saying.

What He's saying is

the value

of what she gave

though it was so small

in everyone else's mind

was great to Him.

Why?

Because she gave

out of sacrifice.

All of the people

that were parading

in front of the offering box

that out of their wealth

were giving large sums

of money

and maybe even

positively doing that

and helpfully doing that

Jesus sees this poor widow

come and He values

the gift that she gave

even though it was so small

because she gave it

in a spirit of worship

and a worship

that was by nature

sacrificial.

And He began to teach

His disciples about it.

He also instructed later

that our hearts

are to be set

on spiritual things

in order that our money

might be given

to God's work

instead of our own wealth.

Listen to what He said

in Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

Do not lay up

for yourselves

treasures on earth

where moth and rust

doth destroy

and where thieves

break in and steal

but lay up yourself

treasures in heaven

where neither moth

nor rust destroys

and where thieves

do not break in

and steal

for where your treasure is

there your heart

will be also.

No one can serve

two masters

Jesus said.

Either He will hate

the one and love

the other

or He'll be devoted

to the one

and despise the other.

You cannot serve

God and money

He says.

What is the key

to giving?

Understanding that

our giving

is actually worship

and worship

is by nature

sacrifice

and many times

will be called upon

by the Lord

to give sacrificially

to His work

out of a sense

of worship.

This is the reason

we actually take up

an offering

every Sunday morning

not because the Bible

says you must

pass a plate

or have mast

and gloved ushers

that walk around

and hold out a plate

to you in these days.

The Bible doesn't tell us

that.

We can put up offering boxes

and it would be

just as fine

but the reason

we have a designated

time in our service

every Sunday

is to emphasize

that as we give

this is our worship

to the Lord.

We're not to take it

casually

or thoughtlessly.

It's to be a time

that we contemplatively

worship

as we reflect

on what God

has done for us

in Christ

as we reflect

on the providential care

that He has demonstrated

and what He has given

to us

and then in worship

in joyful

cheerful worship

we say

we give this back

to you

with the same spirit

that we anticipate

casting those crowns

back at His feet

in heaven.

We give back

to the Lord

during this part

of our service

in worship

and it's there

for a reason

that we might think

on it in that way.

Many of us probably

give online.

Julie and I

our habit

many times

is actually

to give online

but the danger

in that

is that we lose

the sense of worship

in the service

as we come

and we reflect

on what we're

actually doing

and so when we

look at verse 18

we see that

this second heading

there is sacrifice

it's worship

and He was commending

the Philippian church

on that

and then thirdly

and finally

is supply

their share

their sacrifice

and their supply

look with me

at verse 19

I love this

but my God

shall supply

all of your need

Paul says

in verse 18

he said

God through you

has supplied

my need

I am fully

supplied

I'm full

I'm overflowing

now because of

your gift

and now He's saying

but my God

that has just

supplied my need

He's going to

supply

your need

how?

according to

His riches

in glory

by Christ Jesus

isn't that great?

what an encouragement

that when we come

to the Lord

many times

even with that

touch of fear

in our minds

in our heart

and we want to give

and we desire

to sacrifice

not just in material

things

but in our time

and in our efforts

and in our spirits

and we want to give back

to the Lord

in worship

but we have that

tinge of fear

that exists

and then we can be

reminded of verse 19

that says

but my God

will supply

all of your need

well how's God

going to supply

all of your need

because of His

infinite riches

in glory

and we can be

encouraged

and we can dispel

that fear

after Paul

expressed this

gratitude

he issues

a wonderful promise

God will supply

your need

every need

according to

His infinite resources

but how could

He say it

with such certainty

because He was

a living testimony

of the sustaining

power

of God

He had given

everything up

at one point

for Christ

in fact

He's talked about

that in this passage

flip back to verse

or chapter 3

and look with me

at verse 7

Paul after

spending a few verses

talking about

everything that he

had considered

gain in his life

he gets to verse 7

and he says

but what things

were gained to me

those I counted

loss for Christ

yea doubtless

I count all things

but loss

for the surpassing

value

of knowing

Christ Jesus

my Lord

he says

for whom I have

suffered the loss

of all things

and do count them

but dung

that I may

win Christ

and be found

in Him

what was Paul's spirit

he didn't have

to worry

he was happy

to give

he was happy

to sacrifice

he was a living

testimony

of the great

and infinite

supply

of God

he had literally

given

everything

that at one point

was the focus

of his life

he had counted

it all loss

in order that

he could

pursue

Christ

and he had

learned

that God

always supplied

him with the

strength

and the resources

necessary

to accomplish

what is God's

purposes

for his life

and we

studied about

that in chapter

4 in verse 13

in that famous

verse

I can do all

things through

Christ

who strengthens

me

Christ has

called us

to give

how are we

going to do

that

well God

will supply

he will supply

the strength

to endure

whatever it is

that he calls

us to

in life

their gift

was an example

of God

continuing

to supply

his need

in prison

he could

declare

the blessing

of the divine

supply

because he

had experienced

it

first

hand

there's two

ways I think

that we can

even acknowledge

in this verse

that God

supplies all

of our needs

the first way

is through

temporal supply

temporal supply

look at the beginning

of verse 19

again

but my God

shall supply

all of your

need

according

to his

riches

and glory

and we

got to be

careful

to understand

what this

passage

isn't

saying

contrary

to the

prosperity

preachers

of the day

God

does not

promise

to supply

us

with everything

that we

want

so long

as we

give a

certain

amount

to any

given

church

or

ministry

that's

not what

he's

saying

he's

not

saying

that if

you

faithfully

put in

the offering

plate

every week

or if

you

send

a check

to this

guy

on TV

and he

sends

the handkerchief

back

or whatever

it is

he's not

saying that

just because

you give

means that

this whole

list of

things that

you want

in life

is all of a

sudden

going to be

provided

that's not

the promise

here

the promise

is that

he will

supply

all of

your

need

and we

got to

be careful

here to

remember

too

that the

law of

sowing

and reaping

still applies

even as

believers

sometimes

we can

just be

poor

stewards

and not

use very

much

wisdom

get a

little

too

excessive

with

the

credit

card

and not

be

diligent

to budget

and run

up a

sea full

of debt

and then

pray

verse 19

Lord supply

all my

need

it's not

that God

hasn't been

supplying

your need

it's that

you haven't

been

stewarding

well

his supply

and we

can't expect

that God

would just

erase

everything

that we've

done

and not

allow us

to face

the consequences

of that

that's not

what this

passage is

saying

what's it

saying

the promise

is that

those who

follow him

in faithful

obedience

will always

have what

they need

in accordance

with his

divine purpose

for their

life

could we

look at

Paul's life

and say

that he was

receiving all

that he

needs

from our

perspective

we would

say

no way

he spent

four years

in prison

for nothing

he hadn't

done

anything

wrong

he's

just

awaiting

a trial

to appear

before a

man that

historically

we know

to be one

of the most

hateful men

in regards

to Christianity

the Emperor

Nero of

Rome

we say

no what

Paul needs

is to be

able to get

out of prison

so he can

continue his

ministry

but Paul's

already dealt

with that

in this

book

in very

first chapter

he says

all of these

things that

have fallen

out to me

have been

for the

advancement

of the

gospel

what I

need

is for

God

to use

my life

not to

get out

of prison

God

supplied

that

need

Paul's

not

getting

everything

that

he

needs

he's

struggling

just to

make it

as far as

his food

and his

clothing

but here

walks in

Epaphroditus

and once

again God

has created

this supply

the promises

that God

will supply

all of

your need

according

to his

divine

purposes

for your

life

and that

should

bring us

great

joy

God's

promise

is not

to make

you

wealthy

though he

may

indeed

see fit

to make

you

wealthy

his promise

is that

he will

meet your

need

according

to his

purposes

in life

many

Christians

that don't

faithfully

give

as we

have

mentioned

neglect

the

command

out

of

fear

but

listen

to

these

reassuring

words

that

Jesus

said

on the

Sermon

on the

Mount

have you

ever seen

pictures

of

in Israel

where people

believe

that

Jesus

actually

preached

this

message

you can

google it

after the

service

today

and you'll

see

pictures

or

many of

you I'm

sure

have seen

them

before

it's

really

just a

big

open

field

where

they

think

this

might

have

happened

and

there

was

a

city

kind

of

off

in

the

distance

that

was

way

up

on

a

hill

so

that

Jesus

might

have

used

that

as

an

illustration

a

city

that

is

on

a

hill

cannot

be

hid

that

was

a

part

of

this

sermon

but

you

can

imagine

all

of

these

people

sitting

around

Jesus

on

this

sermon

on

the

mount

they're

outside

plenty

of object

lessons

for

Jesus

to

use

and

it's

in

the

midst

of

this

setting

that

Jesus

says

these

words

therefore

I

tell

you

do

not

be

anxious

about

your

life

what

you

will

eat

or

what

you

will

drink

nor

about

your

body

what

you

will

put

on

is

not

life

more

than

food

and

body

more

than

clothing

and

then

perhaps

he

sees

!

some

birds

!

fly

around

and

he

says

look

at

the

birds

of

the

air

they

neither

sow

nor

reap

nor

gather

into

barns

yet

your

heavenly

father

feeds

them

are

you

not

of

more

value

than

they

this

is

the

creator

and

sustainer

of

everything

in

his

reassuring

words

that's

looking

at

creation

it

says

look

how

I

provide

for

them

are

you

not

more

valuable

than

them

yes

to

me

you

are

more

valuable

than

them

Jesus

says

and

then

he

goes

on

he

says

and

why

are

you

or

excuse

me

he

says

are

not

you

of

more

value

than

they

and

which

of

you

being

anxious

can

add

a

single

hour

to

a

span

of

life

and

why

are

you

anxious

about

clothing

consider

the

lilies

of

the

field

if

you

come

to

my

house

there

are

no

lilies

it

is

all

burnt

as

the

illustration

goes

on

to

say

consider

the

lilies

of

the

field

how

they

grow

they

neither

toil

nor

spin

yet

I

tell

you

that

even

Solomon

in

all

of

his

glory

was

not

arrayed

like

one

of

these

they're

so

beautiful

when

they

blossom

but

if

God

so

clothes

the

grass

of

the

field

which

is

here

today

or

in

my

case

six

weeks

ago

and

tomorrow

which

is

today

is

thrown

into

the

oven

will

he

not

there

oh

that's

really

the

heart

of

the

matter

isn't

it

therefore

Jesus

says

don't

be

anxious

saying

what

shall

we

eat

or

what

shall

we

drink

or

what

shall

we

wear

for

the

Gentiles

seek

all

of

these

things

and

your

heavenly

father

knows

that

you

need

them

all

but

seek

first

the

kingdom

of

God

and

his

righteousness

and

all

these

things

will

be

added

to

you

what

Jesus

saying

I love

you

he's

saying

I

love

you

more

than

I

even

love

the

birds

and

the

lilies

of

the

field

I

will

care

for

you

seek

first

my

kingdom

seek

me

first

seek

to

please

me

seek

to

worship

me

and

all

of

these

things

that

you

need

I

already

know

that

you

need

them

I

will

supply

them

how

according

to

my

infinite

resources

as

Paul

says

according

to

the riches

of

glory

and

then

we're

reminded

of

Solomon's

words

in

Proverbs

3

honor

the

Lord

he

says

worship

the

Lord

with

thy

substance

and

with

the

first

fruits

of

your

increase

seek

first

the

kingdom

of

God

essentially

Solomon

saying

so

shall

thy

barns

be

filled

with

plenty

and

thy

presses

shall

burst

out

with

new

wine

the

supply

of

God

isn't

limited

to

material

provision

either

we

get to

verse

19

many

of

us

and

all

we

really

think

about

is

material

provision

that

if

I

give

to

the

Lord

on

Sunday

maybe

my

car

won't

break

down

this

week

and

maybe

I'll

get

a

bonus

in

the

mail

or

we've

all

heard

those

stories

about

the

guys

that

have

given

you

know

the

Lord

just

laid

it

on

my

heart

to

give

$342.62

in the

offering

this

week

is

this

the

day

that

you

that's

really

a

skewed

perspective

in it

the

Lord's

provision

is not

limited

to

material

provision

think

about

all

the

things

that

Paul

has

instructed

this

church

on

in

the

book

of

Philippians

what

does

the

Lord

supply

us

with

he

supplies

us

with

joy

he

supplies

us

with

endurance

which

is

a

common

thing

he

supplies

us

with

strength

he

supplies

us

with

humility

when

necessary

he

supplies

us

with

unity

he

supplies

us

with

peace

when

you

cast

yourself

on

the

one

true

God

you

avail

yourself

to

the

infinite

dispensary

of

his

riches

and

of

his

power

and

that's

not

limited

to

money

he

will

meet

all

your

need

according

to

his

riches

and

glory

well

that's

the

temporal

supply

quickly

and

finally

there's

the

eternal

supply

look at

the last

part

of this

verse

is so

significant

he will

supply

according to

his riches

and glory

three more

words

by

Christ

Jesus

this is not

just a

temporal

supply

it's an

eternal

supply

it's an

eternal

spiritual

supply

that comes

through

Jesus

alone

he was

looking beyond

the temporal

things of this

life to the

eternal

blessings of

heaven

those

blessings

only

come

by way

of

Jesus

as

God's

son